In Hugo Grotius's De jure belli ac pacis, an extremely influential text about international law, in 1625, he described the use of riding out under a white flag as "a tacit sign of demanding a parley, and shall be as obligatory, as if expressed by words."
Chapter 1 (Luthors)
The black BMW drove slowly down the winding road, the sun streaming in through the driver's side. Lena flipped one of her visors around, blocking out the light that was slipping past her sunglasses. She rolled her shoulders, trying to relax. When a strong yet gentle hand reached across from the passenger's side and gripped her knee, she smiled despite this situation.
"How are you feeling?" Kara asked.
Lena nodded her response, the small smile still on her face.
"How's the nausea?" Came Kara's second question.
Her eyes flicking to the mirror that gave her a view of the backseat, Lena made a tiny noise then said, "Same as always about the point. Not too bad." She paused, asking the question she'd been avoiding. "How are you, all things considered?"
"It's fine hun."
"You don't have to go with us you know."
Kara chuckled, but it was not with humor. "By Rao, there is no way you three are going here without me. You know that, don't you?"
"Darling, we're not in any danger. If there were—"
Kara's voice was a touch sharp. "Then why are Maggie and Alex ten minutes ahead in an SUV?"
Even without looking, Lena could feel Kara's eyes practically burning into her. The question was an accusation. They had a fairly idyllic life, even with Kara's Supergirl duties, except for this one issue, this one annual issue. It had taken a lot of convincing on Lena's part to ever allow for these meetings to occur. Still, even though this had helped, it hadn't put an end to the threat. Lena thought what Kara really hated was inaction, and today would feel like hours of inaction to Kara. To Lena, it felt like hours of negotiation, and she understood negotiation.
Exhaling slowly, Lena smiled to keep the smile in her voice as she said, "Precautions are never a bad decision. There is no need to rush into things. You know that."
"Are you saying I rush into things?" Kara grumbled.
"Seriously Kara?" Lena couldn't resist casting a sideways glance at Kara this time. "That is the opposite of what I just…I'm not fighting with you today."
"I wasn't fighting with you either," Kara replied.
"It sure sounds like you two are fighting," came a young female voice from the backseat.
"They're fighting?" Came an even younger male voice. "Are you fighting?"
"No," Kara said, unbuckling and turning in her seat so she could look into the back. "Mom and I are just…discussing something. We're not fighting. We don't fight."
With a snort, the young girl of maybe eight flipped her black hair with one hand. Her blue eyes sparkled as she raised one eyebrow and smirked. "Mama, please. We may be young, but we're not stupid. We also have really good hearing." Her smile grew. "Super good hearing."
"Don't do that Lorelei," Lena warned from the front seat though her eyes stayed on the road.
"Yes, Lorelei, we don't do that," the little boy of maybe four next to her said with a nod. He looked quite serious, curly blond hair bouncing while he peered at her with intent green eyes.
His sister just snorted again. "You're a Mommy's boy, Liam. You don't even know what I did."
Brows pressed together until a crinkle formed, he thought for a moment until he finally said, "Something wrong, and we have a responsibility to be good."
"Oh, Rao," Lorelei said as she slumped back into her seat. "Have you two been given this kid the Kool-Aid after I go to bed?"
"Hey, Lori, look at me. Look at me," Kara urged again. "What's going on today? I thought you liked these visits."
Meeting Kara's eyes, the young girl shrugged. Her mouth was tight and slightly turned down at the sides though. There was a sad cast to the blue eyes, and the sass that had just been present was suddenly gone.
"Lori."
At the sound of Lena's voice, the girl looked up and met the woman's gaze in the mirror.
"Did you see something on the news? We've spoken about you watching—"
Head shaking, Lori held Lena's gaze. "I didn't watch the news. I know the rules but…" Tearing her eyes away from those green ones that held her with such intensity, she finally said, "Mellie brought in a video to school and it—"
"Ugh, Melanie," Lena said.
At the same time, Kara said, "Here we go."
"Mellie's my friend!" Lori defended.
"Melanie Everman is Melanie's friend," Lena said, eyes back on the road.
"Look, Lori," Kara gently smiled as she spoke in a gentle tone. "We know you see Mellie as an underdog and have gone out of your way to defend her. That's very admirable. It's important that you want to defend people that are in need of help. That's who this family is. That's who you are. Mellie though…Mellie is…"
"Manipulative," Lena suggested.
"Well, she certainly seems able to find things that upset you even though she brings them to you and says she's curious or trying to be a good friend," Kara continued.
"She is a good friend," Lori said again.
"When you came home after seeing that video about Uncle Lex attacking Kal and Metropolis, who was it that found that and brought it to you?"
"Melanie," Lena supplied before Lori could say anything.
"And when you came home crying about Aunt Maggie being so awful, who was it that dug up that old video of Mom being arrest by Aunt Maggie a dozen years ago?"
"Melanie," Lena answered again.
"And that day we got the call from the school because you were locked in the private bathroom, who was it that—?"
"Okay, all right already!" Lori yelled, punching the car door and making them lurch slightly.
Lena corrected quickly, and they stayed on the road with ease. She pushed a button on the steering wheel, and it brought up a display on the dash. She checked the readout, nodding once, then pushed the button on the wheel again making the display disappear.
"Any damage?" Kara asked.
"None. The absorption system handled that little shock easily. However, the driver would appreciate it if everyone would control their tempers," Lena commented.
"Sorry Mommy," Lori mumbled, her head down.
"Yes Lori, control your temper," Liam mimicked.
"Hey buddy, thank you for your help, but you are not a mom. Why don't you let the parents handle this? Play on your tablet, okay?" Kara suggested.
"Okay, Mama," Liam said with a bright smile as he lifted the tablet up and returned to a game where he had to pop just the balloons that had prime numbers.
"So, want to talk to us about what you saw?" Kara asked gently. "We don't need to get into who showed it to you or why. We're just worried about what you're feeling, sweetie. We're worried about you."
Sucking in her bottom lip, Lori seemed to be considering that before she nodded and said, "I saw a video. It was old new footage. It had…well, both of you were in it and…"
"And?" Kara said with an encouraging smile. "No one will be mad at you sweetie. We're here to listen."
"Even though it was on the news? Mom says not to watch the news. I wasn't really watching. This was an old news thing. It wasn't you in a fight or something."
Kara nodded and smiled, reaching back and squeezing her daughter's hand. "I promise."
"It was about…Medusa."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Lena, but she said nothing. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles going white at the tops with red bands along the sides from her intensity. That was a name best lost to the ages.
With a quiet clearing of her voice, Kara's attempt to adjust non-existent glasses changed into one hand brushing through her blonde hair. "Do you mean the Medusa Virus?" She asked in a tone that surprised even her in its gentleness. When Lori nodded quickly, blue eyes wide with concern, Kara managed to say, "Oh."
"Right," Lena sighed. "Medusa, that is a complicated subject."
"Complicated is parent code," Lori came back.
"Usually," Lena admitted with a chuckle.
"She's your child," Kara mumbled, turning sideways in her seat to face the driver.
"Why is she always my child lately and Liam is your boy?" Lena asked, glancing over at Kara with veiled eyes.
"Because she's always difficult lately and he's still easy. In a few years, they'll both be yours."
"She's not difficult, Kara, she's challenging. You and I, we both love a challenge, don't we?" Lips curled up; her gaze met her daughters again.
"I'm both," Lori admitted, arms crossed over her chest and a bit of her earlier attitude returning,
"That, see, that," Kara said, spinning in the seat again and pointing at Lori. "That is more than a challenge. That is…it's…"
"Actually, I think that's the very definition of a challenge," Lena said. "You just need to stop rising to the bait. You do realize we've got years to go until the teen hormones kick in. That will be pleasant, won't it?"
"Yes!" Liam yelled. When everyone looked, he was just staring at his tablet, tapping in commands and grinning to himself.
"Something good happen, buddy?" Kara asked.
"I beat the level, Mama," Liam replied with smiling. "Are we going for ice cream later?"
"Uh, does a bear poop in the woods?" Kara replied with an easy grin.
His brows pressed together again, he looked up at Kara and seemed to study her for a moment before he replied, "A bear in the woods does."
"Rao," Kara said as she slumped into her seat again, her head lolling to the side so she could look over at Lena. "What do you do to these children while I'm off saving the world?"
"I teach them critical thinking skills. It's something sorely lacking in society today," Lena replied, one eyebrow high in a challenge.
Clearing her throat, Lori waited until Kara turned to face her again and said, "The Medusa Virus, can we talk about it?"
With a sigh, Kara replied, "You know your Mom wasn't involved in that at all right? It was just the opposite, actually. Your Mom saved everyone, all the aliens. It was one of the first things she did to prove exactly the kind of the person she was. She shouldn't have had to prove anything, but—"
"Why didn't you take the name Danvers when you got married, Mom?" Lori asked suddenly.
"I…well…"
"What's wrong with the last name Luthor?" Kara asked in turn while Lena searched for a response. "I'm proud to be Kara Luthor. I'm proud of everything your mom has done, and the Luthor name has done since she's come to National City. The Luthor name means Luthor Children's Hospital, Luthor Non-Indigenous Lifeform Hospital, Luthor Woman's Shelter, Luthor Non-Indigenous Lifeform Scholarship, Luthor Library, Luthor—"
"Yes, Mom's a saint," Lori said before Kara could build up any more steam. "All of those things could be done in the Danvers' name and then we'd still be philanthropists but without the bad history. Wouldn't that have made more sense?"
"Philanthropists?" Kara said with a long whistle. "Wow, five dollar word there, kiddo. I guess that fancy private school is really paying off."
"Are we changing the subject?" Lori asked.
"There, there it is again," Kara said pointing at Lori but looking at Lena. "Your child."
"Well…yes," Lena admitted. "She'll be ruthless in the boardroom. I'm looking forward to an early retirement." Clearing her throat, Lena glanced briefly back at her daughter through the mirror then said, "Lori, our family's past is there. We're not running from it. No one can change the past. Don't correct me, Kara," she added quickly with a finger waggle that made the Kryptonian close her mouth with an audible snap. "We don't live in the past though. We don't dwell there. We learn from it. We move forward from it. We never forget it, and we live in the present with an eye toward the future. Our future, this family's future, is better because we will never forget the past. If people think they can upset us by reminding us of our history, then they are sadly mistaken. That history is our power. Our family's failures are the roots of many of our successes. Does that make sense?"
"I…" Shrugging, Lori replied, "I'm not sure. Bad stuff happening is good stuff somehow?"
"Hey, sweetie, do you ever beat Mom at chess?" Kara asked.
"No," Lori replied with a glower. "I'm getting really good too. No one at school can beat me, not even the older kids. You know, I bet other kids' parents let them win."
"They're not Luthors," Lena replied casually.
"I'm a Luthor," Liam said not looking up, then laughing as he cleared a level on his game.
"Yes you are, buddy," Kara told her son. "Lori, do you ever beat me at chess?"
"You?" Lori snorted.
"That noise is really unattractive, you know?" Kara commented.
"You're easy, Mama. I mean, you're a good chess player when you want to be, but you're so impatient. All I have to do is take my time, and you get distracted. So long as we don't use a timer, you're easy to beat."
"She's right Kara," Lena agreed.
"Hey, I beat you once," Kara said to Lena.
"Once."
"Yes, but it happened. It happened on August 13, 2026. See, it's here on my calendar." Kara pulled out her phone, going to the calendar function and scrolling back years to the date. "Here, right here. See, it says I beat you and even the final move."
The look Lena shot at her wife clearly would have lasted longer and possibly been fatal even to a Kryptonian if she didn't need to keep her eyes on the road. "You still have that on your phone?"
"I'll always have this on my phone."
"I had a cold that day you know. I was off."
"I won. I have pictures of the board too you know. Do you want to see pictures? Do you kids what to see pictures?" Kara offered.
"Mama, we've seen the slide show," Lori replied while Liam nodded. "Does this explain why Mom didn't change her name to Danvers when you two got married, or are you trying to change the subject again?"
"Oh, no it's on topic," Kara promised as she put her phone away. "So if your mom just let you win, you wouldn't have learned much. You've learned more from losing to her than you have from beating me."
"Except that you're easily distracted and wander off on tangents easily," Lena murmured.
Ignoring her wife, Kara continued, "Your mom is teaching you when she beats you. She's teaching you how she beat you and how to win against that, and you're using it to defeat others. When you win against me, you don't learn much. The Luthor name has done a lot for us too. We don't want to run away from what happened. We want to learn from it. Does that help sweetie?"
When Lori sat pensively, Lena added, "The examined remains of our defeat are the foundations of our future victories."
"Who are you quoting?" Lori asked.
"Myself, darling," Lena replied with one lifted brow as she met her daughters gaze in the mirror. "If you're going to quote someone, always go for the best."
"Plus the Luthor name is synonymous with humility," Kara quipped.
"What's humility?" Liam asked, still not looking up from his tablet.
"Really!?" Kara pointed back and forth between her children. "You're teaching them chess and critical thinking, and they don't know the word—?" When both children started to laugh, Kara deflated. "They're ganging up on us."
"Oh definitely," Lena agreed. "How do you think I feel when it's just them and me, and you're off glory hounding for the press and ignoring your parental responsibilities?"
"Oh, is that what I'm doing?" Kara replied with a smirk. "So when I catch a plane that is falling from the sky or save people from a burning building, I'm off having fun?"
"Absentee parent," Liam said still playing with his tablet.
Everyone was suddenly quiet, Lori and Kara turning to look at him, and Lena's gaze shooting through the mirror toward the boy though he still didn't look up.
Looking over at Kara, Lena said, "I swear to God, Kara, I have never, ever, said anything like that in front of the children. You know I respect and believe in what you do. We spoke about this before we started a family and—"
Nodding, Kara squeezed Lena's wrist, though the crinkle was present between the blonde's brows. "Hey, buddy, Liam, what is that about absentee parents?" Kara asked cautiously.
"My friend Eric says his mom says his dad is an absentee parent. I don't know what that is, but I know you're a parent, and I know sometimes you're absent because you have to save people's lives. I know Mom misses you and gets worried sometimes, but she's real proud of you." Finally looking up from his tablet, Liam's brows pushed together as he asked, "Do you think Eric's dad is a superhero too?"
With a tiny laugh, Kara nodded and said, "Ah…possibly. You know how important our secret identities are to us superheroes, right? That's why you can't tell anyone about us. You know what happens if anyone finds out, right?"
Nodding quickly with a serious expression on his face, Liam replied, "We have to move to the DEO with Uncle J'onn and Aunt M'gann. I like them even though they make weird faces and stare at me sometimes. Mom says there's no ice cream at the DEO." Taking a deep breath, Liam closed his eyes before letting the breath out, his eyes opening as he stared intently at Kara. "I really, really like ice cream."
Chuckling, Lena said, "I think it's safe to say that one will always be yours."
Reaching back and ruffling her son's hair, Kara said, "I think you're right. How about—"
"Kara."
Touching her earpiece, the blonde replied, "Update me, Alex."
"The area is secure. Maggie and I are placing the perimeter now. We'll be ready for you in two minutes."
"I'll let the family know," Kara replied, then added, "Alex says they're secure there. She and Maggie are putting down the security field and will be ready for us in two minutes."
"We'll be there in four," Lena replied.
"Four minutes, Alex," Kara replied. "Any surprises on your end?"
"Just like last time. It's starting to get boring, not that I'm complaining. I'm getting old. I could use boring."
As the signaled clicked off in her ear, Kara, smirked and said, "My sister just admitted to getting old."
"Impossible," Lena replied. "Alex Danvers would not allow old age to affect her. I'm fairly certain she could threaten it away."
"Aunt Alex is a bad ass," Liam said, still playing with his tablet.
"Ooooohhhh," Lori said, then bit her lower lip. She whispered, "I am so glad I didn't say that, and I'm so glad that he did."
Turning and slumping in her seat, Kara let out a moan. "I cannot deal with this today. Lena?"
"Oh, that one isn't mine. He's yours, remember?" She looked at Kara briefly, a familiar smirk on her lips as she raised one eyebrow. "Anyway, your sister is a bad ass."